Guatemalan cartels named terrorist groups by US

The United States designated three Guatemalan gangs as terrorist organizations on Friday, targeting the Lorenzanas, the Huistas and the Mendozas.

US and Guatemalan governments describe the groups as powerful drug cartels that work with Mexican criminal organizations and have ties to business owners, security officials and local politicians.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Lorenzanas were targeted for “numerous acts of violence against civilians, government officials, and military forces in Guatemala.” The group, based in the Zacapa department near Honduras, is also accused of running drugs with Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel.

Guatemalan authorities say the Lorenzana criminal dynasty began with Waldemar Lorenzana Lima, known as “The Patriarch,” who was arrested in 2011, extradited to the United States in 2014 and died in prison in 2021. Several family members have been prosecuted in the United States for drug trafficking. Haroldo Waldemar Lorenzana Terraza, described as the apparent current leader, is on Guatemala's most-wanted list and has a $5 million US bounty on his head.

US officials say the Huistas move drugs to Mexico, work with the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, import chemicals from China to produce methamphetamine and launder money. Their two main leaders were arrested in 2025 and 2026 and extradited to the United States. Washington placed economic sanctions on the group in 2022.

The Mendozas operate from the Peten department bordering Mexico and Belize and also have a strong presence in Izabal province. InSight Crime says the family made money through drug trafficking and is believed to have received protection from political contacts. Haroldo Mendoza was arrested near Guatemala City in late 2014 over his alleged role in a massacre that killed seven people, and a judge granted him house arrest ten years later on humanitarian grounds.